Ghee Comparison Table

Comparison of ghee products for quality and price

This article was updated January 1, 2009. Please make your browser window wide to see the full table.

Ghee is very important in regard to free radicals, health and longevity. I will write more about that in another post. For now, I'l just say that ghee is more than an indulgence. In a healthy vegetarian diet, ghee can be viewed as an essential vitamin supplement (albeit, one that tastes really good). In this post I want to take a look at the products that represent the best value and I want to compare quality. Ghee is so important as an addition to the diet that quality should not be sacrificed -- especially because only a very small amount of ghee needs to be used.

The prices shown in the table are as of today. Shipping rates are for standard shipping. In all cases (except YoGHEE which is shipped from Canada), the shipping charge appeared to be valid for any location in the USA. I also tested the shipping cost when ordering more than one item at a time and entered notes about the final price per ounce. (Because of the large amount of ghee I ordered in this test, I skipped ordering a couple of the products listed in the table below, as noted in the "Purchase or shipping notes" column.)

When I started this comparison, I was primarily interested in finding the best value in organic ghee products. However, I learned that several of the products are more than organic. They are "Vedic Organic". (If the term Vedic Organic is not familiar to you, see the footnotes under the comparison table.) It was a very pleasant surprise to find out that such high quality ghee products are available.

Because Vedic Organic ghees are available, my focus now is on understanding which Vedic process is the most authentic and/or the most correct. So far I can see that some of the ghees are much more authentic than others. The information in the table below reflects that fact.

My blog is not about gourmet cooking. It is about optimum health. Therefore, I am not so concerned with the taste differences in the ghee products. I am concerned with which one product is the healthiest.

I often take a scientific approach when attempting to answer the question of which food is the healthiest. However, when it comes to dairy products, I believe modern science is still catching up with Ayurveda. (When qualified researchers test specific Ayurvedic principles, they often corroborate them.) At this time, there is some preliminary research to support the Vedic Organic concept, but it is not enough. Nonetheless, I have confidence that picking the ghee that is made most correctly according to Ayurveda is a sound way to pick the healthiest ghee.

Another factor to consider may be the color. I discussed Weston A. Price's research on "Activator X" in another article on this blog. We still don't know what "Activator X" is, or even if it represents a valid concept. However, Price claimed that quantitative assay showed the best butter is that with the richest golden color.

Image

Product Name

Ranking

Reference

Comments

Organic

Vedic

Manufacturing Process

Product Size and Price

Shipping Cost (large)

Price/ounce (large product size)

Price/ounce with shipping

Purchasing or shipping notes

Product Name

Ancient Organics Ghee

#1
My favorite

(#1 rank still holds true in 2009. The more I research ghee, the more impressed I am with this product!)

The company has two good articles on ghee at their web site. The founders of the company are Ayurvedic practitioners. One told me, "both Dr. Lad and Dr. Mishra (well known Ayurvedic, doctors who were born

into and practice Vedic Vidya) have remarked on the exquisite quality of our ghee."

Yes. Made from 100% Organic Straus Creamery butter. They told me, "our butter is churned, a very rare way to make butter in todays world. Even most of the organic creameries no longer use churning."

Yes. This ghee sets the standard for Vedic-Organic . "We make our ghee almost always on the full moon. The Full moon is when the qualities of Soma are at their height and it is also the traditional day of making ghee in the Vedic tradition. Also, we chant and play the Mahamrtunjaya Mantra before, during and after the making of the ghee (all day). We are Ayurvedic practitioners as well as having a spiritual practice in the Vedic tradition."

Made in stainless steel heavy pots, over a gas flame in a beautiful and positive environment

14 oz @ $17.50

30 oz @ $29.50

$9.50 (up to 2 items)

$0.983

$1.300

I purchased 2 of the 30 oz size at $9.50 shipping. The order total was $68.50, making the final price/ounce $1.142.

Yes, but USDA organic seal is not shown. No inspection information provided.

It is "imbued with mantras." Recordings of Vedic chanting performed by Brahmin priests plays in the background while the ghee is made. I also chant Gayatri or Devi mantra while tending to the ghee after an initial invocation. The ghee is then stored where daily agnihotra (sunrise/sunset yagnas) occur.

The whole process was disclosed to me and it is obvious that great care goes into the manufacturing.

8 oz @ $7.99

$5.00

0.999

1.624

I purchased 3 items and the shipping was still $5.00. The total was $28.97, making the final price/ounce $1.207

Divina Essentials Organic Ghee

YoGHEE

no longer available

This is another of the very rare Vedic Organic ghees. The online shopping is primitive. They do not utilize e-commerce. Product available in larger quantities and that might help bring down the cost.

Yes. Our butter is certified organic by Certified Organic Association of British Columbia. The BC Dairy Board sets higher price levels for its organic milk; therefore our product end price is not as competitive in the US market.

Our satvic manufacturing practice creates unique product benefits that put it at the top, with respect to cleanliness and positive energetic.

Handmade in small batches in a traditional manner. We make use of yogic music and mantra chanting for each individual jar of product to provide the best possible healing benefit to all. Our processor is a Yogini who insists on positive intentions, speaking tone, words and appropriate cleanliness at all times during the ghee processing.

I have used this ghee and it is good quality. This represents a good value considering that it is the second lowest price. However, MAPI should bring their Vedic-Organic approach to this ghee, as they have done with other foods.

Yes. They state, "made from organic butter that is free of BST." However, Maharishi Ayurveda often uses their own certification agency. No USDA organic seal is visible on the product image.

Probably not

Specifics not given. Some products are imbued with Mantras and Gandharva Veda melodies, but apparently the ghee is not.

13 oz @ $11.95

28 oz @ $21.95

$7.17
FedEx Ground

0.784

1.040

The final cost is typically around $1.040 because shipping is not flat rate.

I have used this ghee but I am not impressed by it. I would like to report more about the company's process of making the ghee. However, The company asked me not to mention any details because "if you put what I wrote you on a blog, it will invite MANY MANY more letters to us asking the same or similar questions wanting clarification on this or that. It adds liteally hours to our already long work day".

Yes. Certified Organic - by Oregon Tilth and independent agencies. In addition to a certified organic vegetarian diet, the cows are never given drugs or hormones of any kind.

No mantras are used. This is not a Vedic-Organic product. It is also not made according to traditional Vedic methods, in my opinion.

They claim that, "through a traditional Indian method, we cook the butter until the water and milk solids are removed. The result is 'traditional' Ghee."

However, I have my doubts that this is really a traditinal ghee.

7.5 oz @ $5.65

13 oz @ $8.75
at Amazon.com

$5.84

0.673

1.122

I purchased 3 of the 13 oz size and the shipping was $7.52. The total order was $33.77, making the price/ounce $0.866

This is the low price leader among organic ghees currently listed here. With the excellent price and attention to quality, this ghee is one you don't want to overlook. I have a lot of trust in this manufacturer.

Yes. Made with fresh organic butter in kitchens inspected by Iowa Dept. of Agric. The butter is made from milk supplied by the Amish.
No USDA organic seal is visible on the product image.

Yes, it is Vedic to some extent. The deva sahasranam chants (recorded) are used according to the Vedic calendar. The ghee is also made in a spiritual community. However, it is made with electric heat, not fire.

Virtually all water content is removed--stays fresh longer than ghee made at home.

Plastic container. Shopping cart malfunctioned. I would feel better if this was USDA certified and in glass.

Yes.
No USDA organic seal is visible on the product image.

Probably not

Made from hormone free milk. It does not come from a big commercial dairy, rather it is produced in a “Goshala” in India, which is a small dairy farm that distributes its products to local residents and temples. Made under the guidance of well trained and ethical dairy farmers. The milk comes from cows that are treated with reverence and care. The cows are fed pesticide free foods and the ghee is made under the strictest hygienic conditions. GMP certified unit. Laboratory tested for quality and purity standards.

Comes in metal can. The ghee is very white, which is not good. The ingredients simply say it is made from milk, but it does not say cow's milk. This might be buffalo ghee. It is also not liquid at room temperature.

Not organic

No

Unknown manufacturing process. Meets AGMARK SPECIAL GRADE specification of the Agmark scheme (1938) of Govt. of India. Made from fresh cream. Has typical rich aroma and granular texture. An ethnic product made by dairies with decades of experience.

32 oz @ 11.99

$5.00 for driving

0.375

0.531

I usually purchase 3 at a time, so the final cost would be $0.427 per ounce, assuming it costs me $5 to pick it up.

Amul Ghee
(from my local Indian Grocery)

Legend:Product Name - brand name of the product as advertised

Ranking - my subjective opinion about which product is the healthiest. Please don't take this too seriously. In order to make an accurate ranking, one would have to visit each facility where the ghee is made, get to know the people making it, and evaluate the process much more deeply. This is the kind of evaluation our society supports for things like financial investments, but we do not yet have collective support for putting that much research into evaluating a food product like ghee. Hopefully that will change because one should pay more attention to the quality of one's food than to the quality of one's investments. If the investments are good and the food is bad, one will not be around to enjoy the fruits of the good investments. For now, I'm simply asking questions via email about the process of making the ghee and turning the responses to my questions into the ranking shown in the table. As I continue this investigation, and as I use the products more, my rankings may change.

Reference - link to online information about the product

Comments - my own remarks about the product

Organic - Is the product USDA Certified organic? Is it organic by another definition? Is it labeled organic?

Vedic - A perfect Vedic product probably doesn't exist. However, steps in that direction include the use of mantras in the preparation of the product. Other factors would be use of Vedic chants, Gandharva Veda music, and expert knowledge about the exact times (or the day or the season) to perform each processing step, including things like utilization of sunlight at sunrise, etc. The detailed processing could even specify the rhythm and direction of mixing ingredients and how the cows are fed and cared for. In general this knowledge is either not available or not applied. However my research indicates that a few companies are taking very important steps in this direction. They may not have a perfect Vedic process, but my impression is that they are doing things that do add value to the ghee. A Vedic Organic food product is superior in quality to one that is simply Organic, and it seems there are a couple companies offering such products.

Manufacturing Process - summary of whatever I could find about how the product is actually made. I was looking for hints of traditional or Vedic techniques being used.

Product Size and Price - a list of each size available together with its price

Shipping Cost (Large) - shipping for a single item of the large size. In general, at the sites I visited, the shipping was flat rate for any location within the USA. I included notes in the table above on actual shipping for quantities larger than one item for my test purchases.

Price/Ounce (large product size) - price divided by size for the large sized product (shipping was not included) with no quantity discounts applied. I did not research quantity discounts, but I do know that at least one company (YoGHEE) offers them for larger quantities.

Price/ounce with shipping - price per ounce with standard shipping factored into the price. This is based on one unit of the large sized product.

re: Purity Ghee, its not actually sold by Amazon. They have a terrible business practice of listing third party sellers products exactly as their own in their product search results. In actuality, the Amazon listing is for ShopNatural.

Dear Dave,I am a member of the 'Discussing Nourishing Traditions' yahoo group, and someone posted a link to your ghee comparison post. Thank you for putting the time into that.

I just wanted to offer one comment- you suggest more than once that WAPF folks recommend a high-protein diet. I don't know that that is the case. They recommend a high-fat diet, generally, with smaller amounts of carbohydrates (preferably from fermented vegetables and grains) and protein from animal foods, fermented grains, and well-prepared legumes. Here's a page detailing three days of eating of some of the board members: http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/boarddiets.html

The evidence suggests to me that excess protein is problematic, especially when it's 40 or 50% of one's caloric intake, but the 10-25% protein content they exhibit doesn't seem fair to call 'high-protein.' In any event, bets regards to you!

The question of protein intake is indeed interesting.I don't know if it is possible to definitely settle the question, so I just try to keep up abreast of the various opinions and sort it all out the best I can.

My personal opinion is that any protein intake above 10% of caloriesincreases one's risk of many diseases (cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc.).However, I am surprised that the protein intake of some of the board members's diets was in the mid-teens.

There was a time in the past when I thought 15% protein intake was appropriate and Sally's protein intake seems to average near that figure. Who knows, maybe it is OK. But the research that has impacted me the most puts a safe protein intake at no more than 10%-- and the majority of that 10% should be plant protein. Obviously, you won't agree with that, but after 30 years of studying nutrition, biochemistry, etc., I have the most confidence in that recommendation. (I can always change my mind.)

Do you have any idea what the ABO blood types are for the board members? I would be curious to know how if the percentages of blood types in the WAPF group are different from those in the whole population.

I don't know off-hand their blod types, but I do know that many people respect the idea of a blood type-specific/metabolic type-specific diet. I'm a bit dubious of it, though not very well-versed in the research.

I recall reading something to the effect of the roots of the blood types are much older than the divergence in diet, but again, I don't know the info well, and I'm not closed to teh idea of it.

Truthfully, the most interesting component of WAPF is the fact that it is based largely on what traditional diets actually included. My entry into their recommendations is based on my emergent sense that agriculture and civilization represented a wrong turn for humanity. I could go on for hours about it, but the short reason is that I feel it's deteriorated our health individually, socially and ecologically. From this, I became interested in how foragers ate, and there's lots of evidence to suggest that our bodies do best on the sort of diet we evolved on. That diet of course changed depending on the time and place, but included such broad characteristsics of an absence of dairy after infancy, a minimum of grains and legumes, and a total lack of industrial-era food (anything hydrogenated, most polyunsatured oils, etc.)

So I'm really more of a Paleo-diet sympathizer, but I do think the micronutrients Weston Price noted in higher quantities, Vit A and D in particular, are important, and can be found in dairy, which is why I'm beginning to incorporate some into my diet. Also, grains and legumes, if properly prepared, do offer some valuable nutrition.

I also do think there's a spiritual component to vegetarianism, and that was something I had a hard time with reconciling when I began to eat animal foods again a few months ago, after five years of veganism. But I think that, on a deeper level, the idea that plants and fungi are not relevent subjects whose sacrifice is meaningful is problematic. All eating is sacrifice of one to feed another, and plants just as much as animals have to be sacrficied. So now for me, the issue isn't whether to eat a subject (animal) or an object (central nervous system-lacking plants and fungi), but instead, how can I consume the subject who feeds me in a way that is respectful of self and other, and whose consumption aids the broader community of life, rather than impairs it. Otherwise, you find yourself as I did arguing that lions eating gazelle are acting immorally.

You have left milma ghee and paras ghee made in kerala and rajsthan respectively from the list of comparision.Why dont you visit the places where thease ghees are made and then compare and recomend the best after doing clinical trial for the evidence based conclusion.

Dr.Janardan Panday - Thanks for your input about the ghee products made in India. If you want to have samples sent to me, I could include reviews of them in the table. I have an extensive questionnaire the producer would have to answer as well.

If you are an MD, I am sure you know that clinical trials of ghee are, at present, nothing more than a fantasy here in the U.S. (where I'm based). This is an unfortunate situation. Researchers here still think ghee is basically the same as butter and they still think butter and ghee are both bad foods. Mainstream researchers would not be enthusiastic about spending time and money looking for health benefits in a food they consider bad. Is the situation is different in India? If so, maybe you could organize some clinical trials there. Scientific research proceeds slowly. Think about how long it took for the mainstream scientists to figure out that margarine was less healthy than butter, while people in the alternative health community had known that for decades.

I tend to favor the argument that we didn't evolve to eat a mostly vegetarian diet, and that some variant of the Weston Price promoted diet is the healthiest one - but I'm not a scientist, and I can't say for sure. But I object to the criticism of the Weston Price foundation posted here - that they are essentially promoting a product, and are not honestly promoting their belief in a the traditional ways of eating. It's one thing to say that you believe that a mostly vegetarian diet is good, but it's another to question the integrity of this organization without presenting anything even close to evidence supporting that claim.

Why am I here today? I just purchased some ancientorganics ghee at the Rainbow Grocery here in San Francisco, and was doing a bit of online research. I think that it tastes fantastic, by the way.

John, thank you for your comment. If you try making ghee yourself, be sure to remove any moisture. In my experience, it is difficult to match the ghee made by the best companies when making it at home. I prefer to buy it.

I am working on an update to this table. I have found several more ghee products to include. I also have more detailed information from the companies.

I have been totally carnivorous for 49 years. This is the true ancient/plaeolithic diet- no vegetation whatsover. The diet type is high-fat, and the usual caloric ratio your body will choose is 80% fat, 20% protein. There is no such thing as a 'high protein diet', since protein becomes a problem unless there is unough fat intake present- or sufficient carbohydrate to convert into fat- because carbs cannot be either stored or used as fuel by the body 99% of dietary carbs (glucose) is converted into bodyfat (check that roll around your middle THAT is your 'fuel tank', and surprise! it consists of triglycerides, mostly saturated triglycerides. The body's fat mass CANNOT take circulating dietary fat into the cell, it all must be burned. The amazing thing about having eatent his way ( and loving every minute) is a seemng lack of aging in my body- I have all my teeth and even at 73 am quite muscular, with flexible skin. I can still both read and see distance. What people eat has npothig tpo do with what we should eat. It has npthing to do with what our bodies need. It has nothing to do with consciousness eather. What we eat is determined solely by what our mums fed us as babes. Trust me.

I was wondering if anybody has tried Taaza ghee by Meghana foods. They sell them in little jars on Amazon, which is convenient because you don't have to haul out a huge jar. I usually buy ghee from Indian grocery stores, but they taste rancid and are usually in plastic or tin containers. I'm running out of my ghee from India, so I'm looking for an alternative. Too bad I cannot find Nestle Everyday Punjabi ghee here in the US.

Shelly, I tend to agree with you about the Weston Price Foundation. I know a lot of Weston Price followers read my blog because I have posted about "butter oil" and ghee, but that doesn't mean I agree with much the Weston Price Foundation promotes. In fact, I favor the use of ghee because it has allowed me to have full vitality on a non-meat diet. When many people eat vegetarian diets they notice a lack of energy and they often conclude they need some meat or protein. I found that all I needed was some ghee.

Thank you for your very informative blogging. I am an assistant professor in radiation oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.

I was raised in a Hindu household with a predominant ayurvedic diet, and am interested in conducting studies to further our understanding of the benefits of this diet, specifically as it relates to cancer prevention and also recovery post treatment.

I wanted to talk with you specifically about your findings regarding the benefit of whole milk and ghee, something that differs from Colin Campbell's recommendations.

we would like to introduce our selves as import export company we are contacting you to discuss the possibility of business cooperation between our tow firms .we are interested in order for :- 100 ton pure butter ( Ghee ) ,- The produced should be completely from : cow or sheep milk- 2 kg in metal tin- 1 kg in metal tin

so if you are interested to cooperate with us please send us your offer , as soon as possible

what does vedic really mean anyway? just playing a cd of somebody chanting mantras in the background? as far as i can tell, none of these products are ghee since they are not made fermented milk - THAT is vedic, if 'vedic' means authentic

if they are not fermented then they don't have the agni of real ghee - thus, they are just clarified butter, not ghee

bill - you said, "none of these products are ghee since they are not made fermented milk".

That is an excellent point! If you know of any commercially available ghee made from fermented milk, please let us know.

As far as I know, Ancient Organics is as close to the old style Vedic ghee as is available in North America -- and I believe it is better than what anyone could make at home (unless you are a highly trained pandit making it yourself at home).

neha - as mentioned in some of the other comments, you can make ghee at home. Also, have you checked to see if Ancient Organics can ship ghee to New Zealand? It might be expensive, but with the dollar at such a low valuation now, maybe it won't be too expensive for you. Check it out.

Thanks for all the information! I got to your site after researching oxidized cholesterol, which was mentioned in a recent paleo diet newsletter.I assume that the ghee sold in the U.S. is from pasteurized milk. Any thoughts on whether that makes a difference? Some nutritionists believe that heating milk makes it unhealthy, but I'm not sure if they are referring to milk proteins or fats or ???

This is a blog about health and fitness. I focus on nutrition, food supplements, alternative medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, organic foods, fitness and more. I sometimes talk about sports and my other interests, but this site's focus is health. In health terms, a free radical is a molecule that is one electron short. Because of the drive to add another electron these molecules attack their neighbors. Scientists speculate that free radicals are linked to our major diseases and to the aging process.